Saturday, October 6, 2007

Last week I was talking with some friends and the subject of Bible reading and devotions came up. One of the guys said he thought it was good to start the day off with even a small section of Scripture. He went on to say that many times we feel we need to have a big study session in order to have an effective devotion. He disagreed with that although he said that those feasts are nice when they happen. He maintained that his day seems to go better and be more focused when he starts it off this way.

As I thought about that, oatmeal came to mind. To many people, oatmeal represents a very bland breakfast. At our house, we have a box of instant oatmeal. There are ten packets, eight that are flavored and two plain. It seems that when the box nears empty, the two plain remain. All are nutritious and it could be argued that the plain may be the most nutritious of all.

Some days when we open the Bible, we may have a breakfast of plain oatmeal. There doesn’t seem much to it and depending on the person, the taste is good, tolerable or nasty. Other days we grab one of the flavored packs and revel in cinnamon, apple, peaches or maple syrup. And of course some days we have sausage, hash browns, eggs, toast and orange juice.

What’s important is that we have something for breakfast; it starts the day out right. Less important is what we have.

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17 ESV)

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12 ESV)